


Beneficial

by stephanericher



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Mob, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 05:08:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6315946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stephanericher/pseuds/stephanericher
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>But Iwamura hasn’t even discovered the best thing about living with Kasuga.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beneficial

The first benefit to living with Kasuga is getting to see him on a regular basis. He and Iwamura are both bodyguards, but they’re rarely guarding people in the same place and only communicating through the higher-ups (and at their status there aren’t many, only enough to feel like just too many). Iwamura’s usually serving the head of the family in the main building and Kasuga’s on detail with his kids, preventing his daughter from stepping too far out or his son from stepping too far in (whenever the boss says anything about this there’s always pain written on his face—too much, too soon, for both of them, even as they’re nearing middle school, and, well, if Iwamura was stupid (or if he was Tsugawa, which is sometimes the same thing) he might voice the opinion that the boss could just skip town and retire or send them off somewhere to be protected and away from all this business, but they both know that won’t do any good anyway).

But living together means they’ll see each other in the morning at least, Kasuga stretching lazily and reaching his hands up to push against the doorframe to his bedroom, sleep shirt riding up to reveal a stripe of very well-toned skin, hair pulled back in a ponytail but some strands escaping with the wild way he sleeps, falling over his face like the peel of an apple. And it means shaving next to Kasuga brushing his teeth and slicking back his hair, jostling for elbow room with him but never letting it turn into something where they need to pull out their actual physical skills (and they have to use them too much).

The second benefit, Iwamura decides, is getting to be with him in a capacity he simply hasn’t since they were just new recruits, flexing their fingers (they still had them all and they were still all whole; the both of them still do but not everyone else is so lucky) and trying to get used to the weights of the weapons strapped to their body, a gun in the belt and a knife against the calf that won’t move or slice when they run. And yeah, Kasuga’s still a little bit sloppy (but he knows where all his knives are, which is really what’s important) and he has even more sneakers than he did back then (most of them too gaudy for him to ever wear, even on days off). They spar together, too, comfortable with each other’s body, comfortable with physical contact, with fists and elbows, and comfortable to relax against each other and breathe the way Yukinori-sensei taught them, to gather their strength and trust (as well as anyone can).

And Iwamura could enumerate reasons, sub-reasons, details, anything, as much as he wants, but it all comes down to his apparently not-so-minor crush on Kasuga. Because while he could always catch up to him and see the gleam of his teeth and listen to him talk and lean in as if Iwamura were the most important, the only other person in the universe, and while he could always catch glimpses of his figure cutting through the estate silently, shadowing one or the other of the kids, before reminding himself that this was all for the Boss and he wasn’t going to be distracted by a fleeting fancy—while he could always have that, and always did, it’s nothing compared to this.

It's not like he’d come home and see Kasuga stretching in the living room, bending his body in half and placing his palms flat on the floor (and as tall as he is he has no right to do that but does anyway, and he’s always posing so Iwamura has a great view of both his face (upside-down, through his legs) and his ass (perfect, round, toned enough for a certain saying about ten-yen coins to apply here)—and sometimes Iwamura wonders if he’s doing it on purpose but Kasuga’s not that much of a tease (as subtle as he can be). And it’s not like they’d get to talk about important stuff when Kasuga turns the TV down and they’re both on the couch close enough to count the centimeters between them on one hand. It’s not like he’d get woken up in the middle of the night because the boss has something urgent and Kasuga, light sleeper that he is, would be seeing him off (and it’s like an old sitcom and he wishes on more than one occasion that Kasuga would kiss him goodbye even with his breath stale from sleep and especially with so much skin uncovered).

But Iwamura hasn’t even discovered the best thing about living with Kasuga. Well, it’s not a discovery as much as a rediscovery of something he’d forgotten, something that slips back in as they get closer, the way Kasuga knows just what he’s thinking and feeling and steers the conversation like a gentle boatman at the rudder toward the things Iwamura keeps in reserve, the things he’s not necessarily going to bring up himself. Like the way he feels about Kasuga, even though he’d tried not to be obvious about it, especially because he’s not especially good about reading Kasuga right back.

They’re eating dinner one night and talking about Sakamoto’s promotion (well-deserved, a position held for too long above him, but he’s too loyal to hold that against the higher-ups for too long and, well, that’s just who he is) and then they’re not; then they’re talking about Iwamura’s feelings and Kasuga’s leaning closer and even though they’re the only people in their tiny, badly-lit kitchen Iwamura feels singled out, in the spotlight of Kasuga’s eyes.

“I mean, you’re dense sometimes, Iwamura, but in some regards…I’ve been trying to tell you I feel the same way for several months and you’re just not getting it.”

Iwamura taps his chopsticks against the plate.

Kasuga makes a low sound in the back of his throat and leans forward, pushing his lips against Iwamura’s.

“You were supposed to kiss me then. Do I have to do everything?”

“What if I wanted you to kiss me?” says Iwamura.

He’d had no idea Kasuga looks so pretty when he’s blushing, so he files that away as #234 of the benefits of living with him. And then he kisses Kasuga, because he’s waited long enough to do it.

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: iwakasu + mob + roommates


End file.
